Republican lawmakers accuse Pentagon IG of hiding Jan. 6 evidence

The Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk sent a letter to the Defense Department’s inspector general demanding a correction in the Pentagon’s Jan. 6 report.

Mr. Loudermilk, Georgia Republican, says his subcommittee learned that the delay of the National Guard going to the U.S. Capitol was because the Pentagon purposely delayed the troops from deploying there until the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, ended.

According to the subcommittee, the Pentagon’s inspector general hid the extent and cause of the delay to protect Defense Department leadership.

The Washington Times reached out to the IG, Robert Storch, for comment.

The subcommittee says it found numerous instances where the IG “failed to disclose evidence that contradicted [his] erroneous conclusion.”

The panel says that the IG’s report reflects an “alarming failure” to adequately evaluate the actions of senior officials, including Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who failed to communicate deployment orders to Army Maj. Gen. William Walker, who commanded the District of Columbia National Guard on Jan. 6.

In the Nov. 16, 2021, Defense Department report, the IG said the actions at the Pentagon were “reasonable in light of the circumstances” at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The IG also determined that officials “did not delay or obstruct” the Pentagon’s response to the Capitol Police’s request for assistance.

“My subcommittee worked with the DOD IG in good faith throughout our investigation to provide multiple opportunities for the DOD IG to produce corroborating materials or evidence to support their conclusions,” Mr. Loudermilk said.

“Unfortunately, the DOD IG continues to promote an inaccurate narrative that protects senior Pentagon officials and attempts to cast fault on the D.C. National Guard, who were ready and waiting less than 2 miles from the Capitol but unable to respond on Jan. 6 due to lack of communication from the secretary of the Army.

“My subcommittee released transcripts that show that not only were political concerns of ’optics’ at play, but that DOD officials continued to delay as the riot at the Capitol worsened. The evidence is conclusive: DOD officials misled Congress into believing that help was ’on the way’ with full knowledge that it wasn’t.”